Make DTE Pay Act

HR8715 was introduced on May 7, 2026 by Rep. Tlaib (D-MI) and referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill amends Section 120(b) of the Clean Air Act to enhance penalties for investor-owned electric or gas utilities that seek rate increases within two years before or after a Clean Air Act penalty assessment. Specifically, the penalty is increased by an amount equal to the original assessment for each such rate increase. The bill does not authorize any funding; it is a regulatory penalty increase. Investor-owned utilities such as DTE Energy (DTE), NextEra Energy (NEE), Duke Energy (DUK), and Southern Company (SO) would be directly affected if they violate the Clean Air Act and also raise rates. The bill is at an early legislative stage with no committee action beyond referral. Given the partisan nature and broad opposition from utilities, passage is unlikely in the current Congress. If enacted, the incremental penalty would be a cost item, not a revenue item, and would likely be small relative to these companies' revenues (e.g., Duke's $28.7B revenue). The bill signals increased regulatory scrutiny of utility rate increases, but the market impact is negligible at this point.